Contraception: Safety of the Pill

For the vast majority of women, the
Pill is safe. That was the conclusion announced last week by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration after an exhaustive threeyear, $200,000
study by 18 medical experts. The FDA thus confirmed what responsible
doctors had been saying earlier (TIME, May 2) in an effort to put to
rest the sensational press and television reports about the dangers of
oral contraceptives.

The FDA's advisory committee on obstetrics and gynecology, which
conducted the study, did not gloss over the harmful side effects of the
Pill. The increased...